Title 21
United States Code (USC)
Controlled Substances Act

SUBCHAPTER I — CONTROL AND ENFORCEMENT

Part C — Registration of Manufacturers, Distributors, and Dispensers of Controlled Substances

§829. Prescriptions

(a) Schedule II substances

Except when dispensed directly by a practitioner, other than a pharmacist, to an ultimate user, no controlled substance in schedule II, which is a prescription drug as determined under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act [21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.], may be dispensed without the written prescription of a practitioner, except that in emergency situations, as prescribed by the Secretary by regulation after consultation with the Attorney General, such drug may be dispensed upon oral prescription in accordance with section 503(b) of that Act [21 U.S.C. 353(b)]. Prescriptions shall be retained in conformity with the requirements of section 827 of this title. No prescription for a controlled substance in schedule II may be refilled.

(b) Schedule III and IV substances

Except when dispensed directly by a practitioner, other than a pharmacist, to an ultimate user, no controlled substance in schedule III or IV, which is a prescription drug as determined under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act [21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.], may be dispensed without a written or oral prescription in conformity with section 503(b) of that Act [21 U.S.C. 353(b)]. Such prescriptions may not be filled or refilled more than six months after the date thereof or be refilled more than five times after the date of the prescription unless renewed by the practitioner.

(c) Schedule V substances

No controlled substance in schedule V which is a drug
may be distributed or dispensed other than for a medical purpose.

(d) Non-prescription drugs with abuse potential

Whenever it appears to the Attorney General that a
drug not considered to be a prescription drug under the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act [21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.] should be so considered because of its
abuse potential, he shall so advise the Secretary and furnish to him all
available data relevant thereto.

(e) Controlled substances dispensed by means of the
Internet

(1) No controlled substance that is a prescription
drug as determined under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act [21 U.S.C. 301
et seq.] may be delivered, distributed, or dispensed by means of the Internet
without a valid prescription.

(2) As used in this subsection:

(A) The term "valid prescription" means a
prescription that is issued for a legitimate medical purpose in the usual course
of professional practice by—

(i) a practitioner who has conducted at least 1
in-person medical evaluation of the patient; or

(ii) a covering practitioner.

(B)(i) The term "in-person medical evaluation"
means a medical evaluation that is conducted with the patient in the physical
presence of the practitioner, without regard to whether portions of the
evaluation are conducted by other health professionals.

(ii) Nothing in clause (i) shall be construed to
imply that 1 in-person medical evaluation demonstrates that a prescription has
been issued for a legitimate medical purpose within the usual course of
professional practice.

(C) The term "covering practitioner" means, with
respect to a patient, a practitioner who conducts a medical evaluation (other
than an in-person medical evaluation) at the request of a practitioner who—

(i) has conducted at least 1 in-person medical
evaluation of the patient or an evaluation of the patient through the practice
of telemedicine, within the previous 24 months; and

(ii) is temporarily unavailable to conduct the
evaluation of the patient.

(3) Nothing in this subsection shall apply to—

(A) the delivery, distribution, or dispensing of a
controlled substance by a practitioner engaged in the practice of telemedicine;
or

(B) the dispensing or selling of a controlled
substance pursuant to practices as determined by the Attorney General by
regulation, which shall be consistent with effective controls against
diversion.

(f) Partial fills of schedule II controlled substances

(1) Partial fills

A prescription for a controlled substance in schedule II may be partially filled if—

(A) it is not prohibited by State law;

(B) the prescription is written and filled in accordance with this subchapter, regulations prescribed by the Attorney General, and State law;

(C) the partial fill is requested by the patient or the practitioner that wrote the prescription; and

(D) the total quantity dispensed in all partial fillings does not exceed the total quantity prescribed.

(2) Remaining portions

(A) In general

Except as provided in subparagraph (B), remaining portions of a partially filled prescription for a controlled substance in schedule II—

(i) may be filled; and

(ii) shall be filled not later than 30 days after the date on which the prescription is written.

(B) Emergency situations

In emergency situations, as described in subsection (a), the remaining portions of a partially filled prescription for a controlled substance in schedule II—

(i) may be filled; and

(ii) shall be filled not later than 72 hours after the prescription is issued.

(3) Currently lawful partial fills

Notwithstanding paragraph (1) or (2), in any circumstance in which, as of the day before July 22, 2016, a prescription for a controlled substance in schedule II may be lawfully partially filled, the Attorney General may allow such a prescription to be partially filled.

References in Text

The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, referred to in
subsecs. (a), (b), (d), and (e)(1), is act June 25, 1938, ch. 675, 52 Stat.
1040, which is classified generally to chapter 9 (§301 et seq.) of this title.
For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 301 of this
title and Tables.

Schedules II, III, IV, and V, referred to in subsecs. (a)
to (c), are set out in section 812(c) of this title.

Amendments

2016—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 114–198 added subsec. (f).

2008—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 110–425 added subsec.
(e).

Effective Date of 2008 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 110–425 effective 180 days after Oct.
15, 2008, except as otherwise provided, see section 3(j) of Pub. L. 110–425, set
out as a note under section 802 of this title.

Construction of 2016 Amendment

Pub. L. 114–198, title VII, §702(b), July 22, 2016, 130 Stat. 741 , provided that: "Nothing in this section [amending this section] shall be construed to affect the authority of the Attorney General to allow a prescription for a controlled substance in schedule III, IV, or V of section 202(c) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812(c)) to be partially filled."

Effect of Scheduling on Prescriptions

Pub. L. 101–647, title XIX, §1902(c), Nov. 29, 1990, 104
Stat. 4852, provided that: "Any prescription for anabolic steroids subject to
refill on or after the date of enactment of the amendments made by this section
[Nov. 29, 1990] may be refilled without restriction under section 309(a) of the
Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 829(a))."

NOTICE: This is an unofficial version. An official version of this publication may be obtained directly from the Government Printing Office (GPO).